Our 250th Fourth of July

Tomorrow is the Fourth of July and the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the document that set forth the political, legal, and moral justification for our young country’s independence from Great Britain. 

It’s a significant anniversary, technically the semiquincentennial, but I know many people feel pretty ambivalent about celebrating given the current state of our nation. With a President that has gone to war against both foreign countries and our own people, a Supreme Court that’s actively undermining the Constitution, and a Congress that continually fails to defend democracy and the rule of law, it’s really hard to feel proud of the nation we are today.

I’m just old enough to remember the 1976 Bicentennial and the national red-white-and-blue patriotism & merch craze of that era. My mother got me and my sister period bonnets & dresses and my brothers tricorn hats and patriotic bell-bottoms, which we wore to multiple events and stops along a rare family road trip to Revolutionary War sites in New York and Massachusetts. See the photo of my siblings and me on the front steps of our home on Pennsylvania Avenue on July 4, 1976. I’m the girl in front, with the white bonnet and red bow.

Back then, the country was trying to recover from the scars of the Vietnam War and Watergate scandal. There was fighting in the Middle East, a national energy crisis, and the political & social upheaval of the past decade was still fairly raw. Yet the nation seemed to celebrate the bicentennial with collective awe and grandeur. 

Today’s turmoil, amidst a major national anniversary, has been compared to 1976, but that seems a stretch. Our 2026 rifts are far more significant than those of 50 years ago and the actions of our federal government are far worse. It will take much more than a big holiday celebration to heal these wounds and put our country on the right track, especially since there has been so little success to truly hold the Trump administration accountable.

Although my anger at Trump and ambivalence about the 250th sometimes gets the better of me, I try every day to model the type of public service that’s necessary for a healthy democracy and to help my constituents keep at least a little faith in our government. I meet with constituents and try to help them solve their problems. I knock on doors to hear what matters to people. I attend events that build community and showcase the best of Vermont. I work on good public policy that strives to make Vermont viable and welcoming to everyone.

Being a good senator is what I do to help save our 250-year-old democracy. I think I owe it to that little girl in the white bonnet, who must have felt optimistic amidst so much celebration. And I owe it to my kids and their peers who feel pressure and anxiety about the world they’re inheriting. We all have so much work to do rebuild our troubled nation.

For now, if you want to learn a bit about Vermont’s history on this big anniversary, check out the collaboration between Vermont Public and the Vermont Historical Society, showcasing the Society’s 50 for 250 project. Or taste some delicious local whiskey: Lost Lantern Whiskey in Vergennes blended The United States of Bourbon to toast the anniversary, including a bourbon from every state in the country.

Whatever you do, stay cool and well. Perhaps I’ll see you at the Bristol Fourth of July Parade!